At last night’s Bloomfield Council conference meeting, Finance Director Robert Renna announced that the state had approved the revised 2011 Bloomfield Municipal Budget, which had been developed at the Bloomfield budget meeting on May 12th.
Renna said that the $260,000 shortfall in the previous version of the budget had been addressed through revenue and grants, so no new cuts to the budget had been needed. The Council voted to approve the amended budget, which can now be formally adopted at the next council meeting on June 8th.
Last night’s meeting was contentious at times, with members of the Bloomfield Council clashing over Civil Service issues, consultants and rent control.
Councilman Robert Ruane objected to two resolutions to amend settlement agreements that had been reached with individuals regarding promotions, saying that the Township was using an expired Civil Service list and leaving itself open to more lawsuits. He said the governing body was “flaunting (sic) the law” by its actions.
This prompted Councilman Hamilton to demand, “You produce where we break laws here,” followed by heated retorts from Ruane, until Mayor McCarthy ended the conversation, saying, “Councilman Ruane, you are out of order!”
The two resolutions passed, with Councilmen Ruane and Joanow voting against passage.
The proposal to hire a Registered Municipal Advisor to help the township reduce the interest rates on $24 million in bonds also spurred Ruane to protest. He asked Finance Director Renna why he couldn’t oversee the process, and demanded to know what the bonds were paying for.
At Mayor McCarthy’s request, Councilman Hamilton explained to Ruane that the federal government, under the Dodd-Frank Act, requires that anyone dealing with bonds be registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission and have specific licenses that Renna would not be expected to have. Renna told Ruane that $15 million of the bonds were related to the downtown redevelopment process.
The remainder of the discussion regarding the Municipal Advisor was moved to closed session in order to determine salary levels for the bidding process.
Councilman Ruane had put the reinstatement of rent control on the agenda for the second time in a month. He stated, “We are a Democratic council – we are supposed to be on the side of the little guy,” pointing out that the elimination of rent control in 1994 was done under a Republican-dominated Council. Councilman Joanow supported the reinstatement of rent control, citing the lack of affordable housing in town. The Council once again took a vote on the issue, with Ruane and Joanow voting to reinstate rent control, Venezia abstaining, and the Mayor and remaining Council members voting no.
The second topic Ruane had put on the agenda, the reestablishment of the rent-leveling board, did gain some traction. Councilwoman Dunigan said she would be willing to lead a committee to look into re-forming the board, and Ruane withdrew his motion on the matter.
In the course of the meeting, other topics addressed included approval of the job description for the replacement of the Secretary to the Mayor and Council, which will be a full-time position that includes public relations and coordination of the publication of the Bloomfield Buzz.
The Council also agreed to move forward in investigating a Public Works MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) Agreement, which would enable the township to contact the local union hall to hire workers on a temporary basis as the need arises, rather than approving overtime or hiring contractors to perform extra work that cannot be handled by the regular staff. Councilman Venezia said a similar arrangement is working well in Bayonne.
The conference meeting, which did not draw as many members of the public as had recently been the case, took place in the conference room in the Law Enforcement Building. Several people spoke during the public comment period, mostly to state their support for rent control.
The next Bloomfield Council Meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers on Wednesday, June 8, 2011.
Watch the meeting on WBMA-TV, here.
Sorry I missed it last night. Good news re the job opening at town hall. Maybe I’ll apply…I’m sure the mayor and council would want me to be able to continue paying my property taxes!
“We are a Democratic council…” That could be the the reason that town is headed down the tubes.
Living here now is like standing on the Titanics deck as she started to tilt.
I’m glad to know the Constant Lawsuit Defense Budget wasn’t at all touched. Also good to know I can be priced out of my apartment at anytime. As long as the developers are happy.
When was the last time a conference meeting was actually held in the Mayor’s Conference room?
It doesn’t appear to have helped his temper that much.
Rent control…only when we get a trend of property tax control.
Secretary to the Mayor. Who would want to work for him?
All I can say is that the people of Bloomfield get what they deserve. They have re-elected this monarch so many times that it is clear that what they desire is expensive, arrogant, incompetence. Complaining should not be allowed – this is what you get. This little red-faced tyrant has wasted so much of our tax money it is beyond disgraceful. The lawsuits alone have cost the town millions and millions of dollars. But oh, I forgot, that is “other people’s money”. You made the bed, now sleep in it.
I can complain if I voted for Lazar. First time I’ve ever voted Republican.
This is why Bloomfield residents in the 2nd and 3rd wards need to turn out in force for the primary election on Tuesday, June 7th to vote for Nick Joanow and Robert Ruane.
Joanow and Ruane are running for re-election in the Democratic primary against two unknowns who have been hand-picked by the county Democratic machine. The machine is trying to force Joanow and Ruane off the council because Joanow and Ruane do what they believe in their hearts to be in the best interest of their constituents instead of blindly obeying the machine.
One may not always agree with what Joanow and Ruane do and say, and how they do and say it, but one thing is perfectly clear: Joanow and Ruane have no ulterior motives. They are for accountability and transparency in municipal government, and for reducing burdens on those who can least afford to bear them.
The two unknowns that the machine has put on the ballot against Joanow and Ruane will be nothing more than subservient lapdogs to McCarthy and the machine if they succeed in getting elected. McCarthy has too many minions on the council already.
So:
– If you are a registered Democrat, get to the polls on Tuesday June 7th and vote for Joanow and Ruane!
– If you are a registered Republican, switch your party affiliation so that you can vote for Joanow and Ruane in the primary. That’s what I did the last time! You can always switch back to Republican for the next primary.
– If you are not affiliated with any party, declare as a Democrat so you can vote for Joanow and Ruane!
Remember that Bloomfield is an predominately Democratic down in an overwhelmingly Democratic county, so like it or not most of our local elections are decided in the primaries, not the general elections. Your participation in the upcoming primary, regardless of your current party affiliation, will ensure that your vote for good government truly counts!
Also:
Tomorrow night (Thursday, May 26) at 7pm, there will be a Bloomfield Candidates Forum for the June primary at Bloomfield College’s Van Fossan Theater, located at the corner of Franklin and Fremont Streets (one block east of Police HQ and Town Hall).
The Republican ballot slots for the primary are uncontested this year, so this will essentially be a forum for the Democratic contenders.
Regardless of your party affiliations or candidate sympathies, I urge everyone to attend so that you may become personally familiar with the people who want to represent you in your municipal government!